


The Dead We Find

by Fyre_flakes



Category: Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Drama, Gen, Minor Arc 2 Spoilers, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-17
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:54:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27068959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fyre_flakes/pseuds/Fyre_flakes
Summary: The Kimochi Raids have shifted into outright war among the involved factions as they vie to kill all enemy Kimochi holders. Iroha mourns for the dead. A short, hopefully canon-divergent AU written for a writing activity.
Relationships: Iroha & Yachiyo
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	The Dead We Find

“Another hurt magical girl?” The two leaders of Kamihama ran up to the body lying on the street. The turf war for Kimochi or “feeling” pieces was growing tense and neither Promised Blood nor the Neo-Magius cared to conceal their tracks anymore. Only the Tokime Clan still maintained some semblance of secrecy, which was a small comfort when they too fought tooth-and-nail against the Kamihama Magia Union.

Yachiyo checked the body’s life signs. “Not breathing. No pulse.” Then the veteran magical girl turned the approximately 13-year-old girl over to look at her hand and middle fingernail.

“...she has a soul gem mark but no soul gem,” Iroha stated the obvious to both of them.

“She could have dropped it somewhere.”

“It’s okay, Yachiyo-san. We don’t need to hold onto false hope. When I declared war on the other groups, I accepted that there would be sacrifices.”

“Iroha, it hurts me to see you holding back like that.” The blue-geared woman stood up, gliding over to place her hand on the younger girl’s shoulder. Trembles vibrated through Iroha’s frame and she was clutching herself, arms wrapped around herself in a desperate attempt to silence her sorrow.

“I- I really will be okay. Let’s take this girl and bring her to the vault.”

\--

Iroha and I are on our daily patrols, trying to protect the Kimochi pieces we’d already gathered and scout out any enemy movements. The peaceful future where all magical girls united against the Incubators had long been discarded and as I scan our surroundings, I also surreptitiously examine my co-leader.

Her pink eyes are still fierce, but duller now. I miss the times when they had been lit up with hope. Dark shadows below her eyes attest to how even though I always encourage her to sleep earlier, sometimes manhandling her to do so, she only stays up later into the night reviewing attack plans and scout intel. Out of all of us, she takes this war the most seriously, claiming the most responsibility for every mistake, every death. If I’m being honest, I’m afraid to leave her alone, out of a fear that the next time I see her, her soul gem will have been irrevocably tainted with impurities and she will have doppeled for the last time after too many times.

“There’s someone over there!” She exclaims. I follow her line of sight. It's someone wearing a Sakae General uniform. Secretly, I breathe a sigh of relief. I don't know this person.

“Another hurt magical girl?” I say.

We rush over. I check the girl’s vitals, so Iroha doesn’t have to. She looks haggard enough as it is. The unknown girl’s unnatural stillness already tells us everything we need to know.

\--

“It’s okay, Yachiyo-san. We don’t need to hold onto false hope. When I declared war on the other groups, I accepted that there would be sacrifices.” Iroha struggled to control her heart rate. The air she breathed had never felt heavier, so unlike the fresh air that circulated freely through her body after Walpurgisnacht’s defeat. She hugged herself, willing her feelings into containment.

“Iroha, it hurts me to see you holding back like that.” Once, Iroha had been the one supporting Yachiyo-san when the older woman was afraid her wish killed her friends. Yachiyo-san was comforting her now, but it was no use. The sin that Iroha bore outweighed most individuals’, as she was the leader who proposed going to war with the other factions. After Promised Blood’s attempt on her life and further cruel retaliations from the Neo-Magius and Tokime Clan, she thought that determination could quickly end their conflict. Instead, Kanagi-san fell, Felicia-chan became crippled and unable to fight, and numerous other magical girls from every side were offered up as sacrifices for control of the automatic purification system.

Kyubey simply watched from the sidelines, cheerfully goading the girls to fight. It believed the doppel system wouldn’t last much longer.

It was only a matter of time before they all destroyed each other or one faction made off with the eight Kimochi pieces from the corpses of their bearers. Until then, Iroha could only fight and mourn the deceased.

“I- I really will be okay. Let’s take this girl and bring her to the vault.”

The hopes Iroha carried, her dream of a peaceful world she could live in with Ui and their friends, and her idealistic resolve that swept all obstacles aside-

-They were dead.

**Author's Note:**

> This was for a multi-perspectives writing activity about finding a corpse, so I used MR as the setting. Fun stuff. I don't actually think the story will go down this direction cause it'd be a repeat of Crimson Resolve, but it is a distinct possibility.
> 
> In order, the POV used were: objective/dramatic, first-person character A, and third-person character B. They needed to all be of the same scene.


End file.
